*Chapter 284: Establishing the Four Emperors*

"Are these guys in Dressrosa trying to turn me into some kind of freak? Neither man nor ghost—what a joke!"

"If you're interested, why don't you all pitch in and buy it!"

"If they want me to live like some kind of half-dead monster, Garp and the others would laugh me to death."

Whitebeard let out a hearty laugh as he sat on the ship, casually ruffling the hair of a blonde crewmate nearby.

Even if Whitebeard wanted to pool some money together, he'd need to have some.

All the money he had went back to his homeland.

It could be said that the only money he had to drink was entirely thanks to his "sons" on the ship.

No one was poorer than him!

"Hahaha, Dad doesn't need it, so we won't take it either."

Jozu and the others laughed heartily, showing no interest in the offer.

But still, they looked at their captain with concern.

Whitebeard's health had been steadily declining recently.

If that thing really worked, they would willingly pool their money together to buy it for him.

But!

They knew their captain's personality all too well!

He wasn't afraid of death, and living like that would be worse than dying.

So they didn't even bother to persuade him and decided to search the seas for a better solution.

Maybe they could find a doctor who could treat their father.

But…

It seemed unlikely that a regular doctor on the seas could help.

And the top-tier doctors were with other powers...

"Let's just refuse that kid's offer! Tell him not to waste his energy on us."

"Instead, why don't we ask Dressrosa to look into the Phoenix Fruit for us?"

"Marco died there, but we don’t know where the fruit will reappear."

Jozu thought out loud, noticing the sorrow deepening on Whitebeard's face.

Realizing his mistake, he slapped himself across the face. Why did he bring up something that would hurt his father?

Was he just asking for trouble?

The others on the ship shot Jozu sharp looks as well.

Why bring up Marco's death now, of all times?

They hadn't spoken about Marco since his passing.

Anytime it was mentioned, Whitebeard's face would fill with guilt.

After all, Marco had died because of him.

It had become a thorn in Whitebeard's heart.

"Hahaha! Long life, they say. Didn't Roger die too?"

"Do those guys in Dressrosa think they can bring Roger back to life? This era Roger started is getting more and more boring."

"They should just destroy it already! But...the stuff they've made is interesting. If we could ally with them..."

"Their power might not be far behind Roger’s. And with people like Zephyr on their side..."

Floating aboard his sky island, Shiki held a newspaper in his hand.

The more he read, the more confused he became about the situation on the seas.

He'd only been away for a few decades, not centuries.

How had the seas changed so much?

The changes were unbelievable.

Aside from a few familiar faces, he barely recognized anything.

The Uchiha clan had become the hottest topic at sea?

He had never even heard of this clan before!

And now there were ninjas everywhere, and genetic modification had become normal.

Now, there was even talk of "ghosts" who could obtain eternal life.

Shiki felt completely out of touch with the world.

"Looks like I need to visit some old friends!"

"Time to catch up on the situation at sea! This Uchiha clan sounds intriguing."

Shiki narrowed his eyes and floated off the couch.

He wasn't particularly interested in the power struggles of the seas anymore.

After Roger's death, Shiki had found the seas to be much duller.

He'd even abandoned his ideals and planned to destroy the world Roger had created—the golden age of pirates.

But now, things seemed different.

Maybe there were some interesting people left after all.

"Let's see if this world has someone worthy of being my partner!"

Various factions began to move quickly!

The emperors of the underworld wasted no time.

They secretly organized a competition.

Each faction sent three representatives, and whichever faction won would get the possible elixir of immortality.

This was something they all desired.

They feared death more than anything!

After all the wealth they had amassed at sea, dying now would be a waste.

Even though they lived in constant luxury, it wasn’t enough.

Not only the underworld emperors, but pirates from the New World also began to stir up trouble.

Several pirate crews openly challenged the Red-Haired Pirates.

The results were predictable; those pirate crews faced complete annihilation.

Although the Red-Haired Pirates didn't have as much fame as the Beasts Pirates or the Big Mom Pirates, they were by no means weaker!

Their power was formidable!

With Dressrosa backing them, their reputation quickly grew.

In no time, the Red-Haired Pirates gained as much fame as the Beasts Pirates and other top crews.

Their renown spread far and wide, and it was no secret that Shanks had once been an apprentice on the Pirate King’s ship.

Thus, the Four Emperors were officially born.

Dressrosa’s influence-building efforts had been incredibly successful.

"This thing is hard to crack. It seems like they're using materials we don’t have here."

"If I could find something with a matching medicinal property, I might be able to figure it out."

"But creating that elixir seems almost impossible."

Vegapunk shook his head from his chair.

This thing didn't seem like it was from this world.

It left Vegapunk puzzled.

If he were to try and replicate it, maybe he could make something similar.

Perhaps by using the blood of an ancient ghost, he could create one or two of them.

But!

This thing defied the principles of lineage factors.

It was like turning a human into a monster.

It was clear that Dressrosa’s technology was ahead of his.

Looks like the Brain-Brain Fruit wasn’t the strongest after all!

There were other outstanding researchers in this world.

"What about making an antidote?"

The voice of one of the Five Elders came through the transponder snail, asking seriously.

They were disappointed they couldn’t replicate it, but if an antidote could be made...

"In order to make an antidote, I'd need to know more about the formula. Capture some of those ‘ghosts’ and I'll study them further."

"I'll drop everything else and focus on researching this for you."

Vegapunk was highly curious about this new development.

If he could crack it, he could innovate once again.

For example, he could remove the side effects, allowing all humans to live without fear of aging, illness, or death.

"Don’t bother! Just keep doing your own research. Forget about this thing."

"Oh, and while you’re at it, report on your current projects."

"Don’t go meddling with forbidden stuff..."

The Den Den Mushi hung up, and Vegapunk furrowed his brow.

However, he didn’t say much and stared absentmindedly at the potion in front of him.

This thing could bring disaster to the sea, yet at the same time, it could inject new power into it.

Vegapunk wasn’t keen on sending it out right away. Instead, he really wanted to talk to the researchers involved.

He had a feeling that there might be a more complete version of this thing.

The full version would likely eliminate some of the side effects.

For example, not being afraid of sunlight anymore.

He wanted to discuss with them how they could even get rid of the side effect of craving human flesh.

Vegapunk wasn’t privy to the inner workings of Dressrosa.

The potion developed by Tsuru hadn't been given to him by the World Government either.

“Dou! Put this thing back for now. If I have some free time later, I’ll come back to study it,” Vegapunk said as he came back to his senses and stood up, addressing the researcher next to him.

“Yes, Professor!”

The young man adjusted his glasses and stored the item safely in a container.

He then followed Vegapunk, now acting as his assistant.

He had been promoted a week ago. His demonstrated abilities had impressed Vegapunk.

Now, as Vegapunk’s assistant, he had access to many things.

“How’s your research on the Orochi’s bloodline factor going? With my data, have you created that Mythical Zoan fruit?”

“If you haven’t made it yet, I can free up some time.”

Suddenly remembering, Vegapunk asked.

“It’s already been made, but the color is different from what’s in the encyclopedia.”

“As for whether it has all of Orochi’s abilities, I can’t be sure.”

“But… I’d like to try it myself.”

Kabuto said seriously to Vegapunk.

Although it was risky, Kabuto believed in Lord Raijin.

“You want to try it yourself? You should know, these artificial Devil Fruits can have unexpected consequences.”

“Even with my genius mind, once you eat a Devil Fruit, I can’t restore you to your original state.”

“If something goes wrong, there’s no turning back.”

Vegapunk looked at Kabuto in shock, wondering why he had come up with such a dangerous idea.

Although they had conducted human trials with their artificial Devil Fruits, there were still some flaws.

Not every Devil Fruit was perfect.

What Vegapunk wanted was to ensure there were no mistakes before proceeding.

But he hadn’t expected Kabuto to want to test it personally.

“I don’t think it will be a problem, and besides, it’s a Devil Fruit that I created! I’m the only one who can tame it.”

Kabuto gave a resigned smile and spoke gently to Vegapunk.

He just wanted to test if he had truly succeeded.

As for the consequences of failure…

Kabuto didn’t dwell on them.

The research on the Mythical Zoan Fruit had already reached its limit.

Even Vegapunk found it difficult to make further breakthroughs.

So Kabuto decided to take the risk himself.

“Well, alright then.”

Vegapunk carefully observed Kabuto and eventually nodded.

“Oh, by the way, I have some books here. You love reading, so you can take them with you.”

“We’ve just started a new project. Study up, and join in.”

“You’ll learn a lot!”

Vegapunk said slowly, as if remembering something.

“Yes, Professor!”

Kabuto pushed up his glasses, looking a bit unsettled.

But it wasn’t surprising—he had successfully integrated himself into the core of Vegapunk’s research group.

From now on, he could participate in any research projects.

Of course!

He would need to prove his value first.

“Kabuto sent word. He’s successfully joined Vegapunk’s research team.”

“Not only that, he’s eaten the Orochi Fruit he developed himself and gained the power of a Mythical Zoan Fruit.”

Kakashi reported Kabuto’s status to Raijin after entering the palace.

Kakashi felt a bit sentimental. It seemed like everyone from Konoha had grown into something great.

They all had bright futures!

“Did the data come through?” Raijin raised an eyebrow and asked. Mythical Zoan abilities, huh?

He could start mass-producing Devil Fruits here too.

But it wouldn’t be an easy process.

Not that Raijin was too worried about it.

“Yes, the data’s been sent to Orochimaru.”

“Now that we can even produce Mythical Zoan Fruits, it looks like we’ll have a lot more of them in the future.”

Kakashi scratched his head.

He felt like eating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit made no difference at all.

It seemed like everyone had lightning powers.

Ninjas had Lightning Style, sure, but what about all these other strong individuals?

Kaido could spit lightning.

Big Mom had a thundercloud at her side.

And when swordsmen unleashed slashes that tore through the air, lightning appeared out of nowhere.

Kakashi felt like his fruit had lost its cool.

Looking back, he wished he hadn’t eaten a Devil Fruit so soon.

“This thing will only be circulated within our ranks! It won’t spread across the seas that easily.”

“If it does, Kabuto’s cover might get blown.”

“So there’s no need!”

Raijin waved his hand dismissively.

“Seems like you regret eating that Devil Fruit! How about this: Have Sasori make you some new equipment.”

“Take a trip to the moon. You’ll find some surprises there!”

Raijin thought for a moment. There was still a batch of unknown technology on the moon.

With some downtime now, he decided to have Kakashi personally investigate.

If there was anything good, they could give Sasori some new inspiration.

What Sasori lacked right now was both material and inspiration.

“The moon?”

Kakashi looked bewildered.

What did his Devil Fruit have to do with the moon?

Looking up at the sky, he had no idea what to expect.

(End of chapter)